Learn how to make a dog bandana and matching face mask. It's an easy way to protect yourself and look good at the same time.
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DIY Matching Face Mask and Dog Bandana

Making a dog bandana and a matching face mask is an easy way to protect yourself and look good at the same time. Here’s how to make your own face mask, and a bandana for your dog. #Twinning never looked so good.  

A big thank you to my mom, who has been working tirelessly to make masks for non-profit organizations. Her volunteer work is helping people stay safe! She whipped up this mask and bandana in under five minutes – a novice like me took about three times longer. 

This post contains affiliate links that help keep boogiethepug.com running. To learn more, visit our Disclosure & Disclaimer page. 

Boogie modeling his bandana.

A note on face masks

It looks like face masks will be part of our daily lives for the foreseeable future, so why not learn to make your own?

You don’t have to have tons of sewing experience, or a fancy sewing machine to make a face mask. Just a bit of fabric, thread and any sort of beginner’s sewing machine. Here’s one you can get for less than $26 that will work fine. 

FYI, there are many ways to make a face mask, so if this way doesn’t work for you, a quick Google search should help you find one that does. 

These masks are really just cloth face coverings. They are not medical grade masks. You can learn more about how to properly wear and wash a homemade face mask from the CDC

#Twinning with sleepy Boogie.
Wake up Boogs! We’re going to make matching stuff!

How to make a face mask

What you’ll need:

  • Fabric
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine
  • Measuring tape or ruler
  • Pins
  • Elastic
  • Chalk or pencil (optional)

Supplies are in demand right now, so if you don’t have elastic, feel free to get creative. You can use straps of fabric that tie around the back of your head, or even shoelaces. 

It’s mask making time!

Step 1

Fold a big piece of fabric in half and cut out a 9″ x 6″ rectangle to get two identical 9″ x 6″ pieces. 

If you’re planning to make multiple masks, making a stencil is useful. We cut a 9′” x 6″ stencil using cardboard so it was easy to mark where to cut the fabric.

Otherwise, just measure out the rectangle and mark the fabric with chalk or a pencil. Then cut. 

Marking a 9x6 rectangle on fabric.

Step 2

Cut two, 6″ pieces of elastic. 

Note: 6 inches is the standard size for a mask. I have a small face so the elastic was a bit too loose for me, so when I was done with my mask, I folded the elastic a bit more and sewed it down. You can adjust accordingly at the end – not to worry! 

Two pieces of fabric and elastic.
You should now have two identical pieces of fabric and elastic.

 

 

Step 3

Take one piece of elastic, and pin each end to the narrower side of the piece of fabric (right side up), like so (see below). The elastic should be about 1/2 an inch from the ends.

Elastic pinned to a piece of fabric.
Do this to the opposite end of the fabric, with the second piece of elastic. Your fabric should now look like this:

Two pieces of elastic pinned to fabric.

Step 4

Pin your two pieces of fabric together, inside out. Your elastic bands will now be on the inside. Your pins should be placed about an inch from the edge of the fabric, on the long side.

Then sew the two pieces of fabric together, leaving a gap opening on one side. 

I’ve included a red dotted line to show you where to sew. 

Fabric with sewing lines.
Sew along the dotted lines.

As you sew, you’ll be going over each piece of elastic, securing it to the mask.  

Sewing two pieces of fabric together.

Step 5

When you’ve finished sewing the two pieces of fabric together (remember the gap!), cut the corners so they’re not pointy.

Cutting the corner of a piece of fabric.

Step 6

Turn your mask inside out. 

Now it’s time to fold!

Starting at one end of the mask, fold the fabric up by 1/3 and pin.  

Pinned fabric.
Repeat, so you should have two folds. Your mask will look like this:

Fabric with two pins in it.

Do the same thing at the other end of the mask (by the other piece of elastic). 

If you can, iron the folds down to flatten the fabric. Otherwise just flatten it with your hand or a heavy object.

Step 7

Sew the fabric once more, going across the folds and elastic on each side and excluding the side with the opening. 

It should look like this:

Sewing a face mask.
Sew along the dotted line.

Sewing the folds down.

Step 8

You’re almost done!

Remember that opening you left when sewing the two pieces of fabric together? You’ve got two options with what to do with it. 

Option 1: If you want to use a filter with your mask (like I do), then you’ll need to keep the opening intact. Fold over about 1/4″ and sew across on each side to clean up your edges. You’ll be able to stick your filter in, take it out and replace it when needed. 

You can see the filters we use for our masks here

A filter in a face mask.
Here’s the mask with stitched edges and a filter inside.

Option 2: If you’re not planning to use a filter, just fold the fabric over and quickly sew the hole shut. You’re done!

Snip off any loose threads and voila! You’ve got yourself a face mask.

#Twinning with Boogie in Central Park.

How to make a dog bandana

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Fabric
  • Scissors
  • Sewing machine
  • Measuring tape or ruler

Step 1

Measure your dog’s neck in inches.

For reference, Boogie’s neck is 17″ around – woof!

Step 2

Lay your fabric out. Grab a corner, and fold it over, creating a triangular shape. Make sure that the long diagonal (the hypotenuse, remember those?) is at least 5 inches longer than your dog’s neck. 

In my case, I measured out 22 inches (17 inches from Boogie’s neck + 5 inches).

Preparing to cut fabric
Measure and cut along the dotted line.

Step 3

Mark the length you need with a pin or chalk.

Cut the fabric across the diagonal. 

Cutting a piece of fabric.

You’ll be left with a triangle.

A triangular piece of fabric.

Step 4

Turn the fabric over. 

Fold down each side about 1/4″ and sew across. 

Sewing a dog bandana.

Step 5

Cut off any messy corners. 

Cutting fabric corners.

Congrats! You’ve just made a dog bandana!

A dog wearing a bandana.

This is a simple and super easy way to make a dog bandana.

If you want to spruce things up, you can always make it two sided, or use two different kinds of fabric and make it reversible.

Have you been crafting during quarantine? Let us know in the comments!

Click here for more pet DIYs. 


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Learn how to make a dog bandana and matching face mask. It's an easy way to protect yourself and look good at the same time.

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